Publication Items

Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [1]

A steep decline in the enforcement of environmental laws means the monitoring of pollution by citizens is more important than ever. But as the latest TipSheet notes, some states have passed laws that severely constrain the use of citizen monitoring or the sharing of findings. Get the backstory, along with top reporting angles and resources for finding monitoring in your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Air [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Citizen Pollution Monitors Face Industry Pushback, Legal Threats [1]
Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [19]

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [21]
Air [4]
Climate Change [22]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [5]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Natural Resources [25]
Policy [26]
Pollution [13]
Technology [27]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [30]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [32]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [33]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [19]
Welcoming New Board Members; Bylaws Revisions Approved [34]

Society of Environmental Journalists President Halle Parker (pictured, left) welcomes three new members to the board of directors and lauds three stalwarts who are departing, plus she shares why the results of the vote on proposed membership bylaw revisions matter for the future of SEJ. The new SEJ President’s Report.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ Presidents Report [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Welcoming New Board Members; Bylaws Revisions Approved [34]
Grants and Contracts Data — Fuel for Journalist-Gumshoes [37]

At one time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was a reporter’s mecca for databases. Nowadays, not so much. But as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox points out, there remains a great government data source for journalists focused on environmental issues. Find out more about the official source for spending data on the U.S. government, including its superpower — search.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Grants and Contracts Data — Fuel for Journalist-Gumshoes [37]
Student Journalists, Adviser Take on University Censorship [39]

If it’s a journalism feel-good story you need heading into the holiday season, peek over the shoulder of the Ernie Pyle statue to the hall that houses the Media School at Indiana University Bloomington. Inside, you’ll find the heroes of the Indiana Daily Student, who, with the help of fellow journalists, stood up to suppression. WatchDog Opinion shares their inspirational story.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [40]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Journalism & Media [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Student Journalists, Adviser Take on University Censorship [39]
Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [41]

Thousands of energy-hungry, water-gulping data centers are helping fuel the artificial intelligence boom in the United States (and elsewhere). The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at this escalating phenomenon and encourages environmental journalists to look into how it may be playing out in their communities. Ten story ideas and reporting resources to cover data centers’ local impact.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [24]
Infrastructure [42]
Journalism & Media [11]
Planning & Growth [43]
Policy [26]
Pollution [13]
Water & Oceans [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Data Centers — A Local Drain on Power and Water, Coming to a Community Near You [41]
The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [44]

In “We Are Eating the Earth,” author Michael Grunwald explains masterfully how good intentions have led us astray over our food system and climate change, writes BookShelf editor Tom Henry. Whether it’s our obsession with meat, myths about biofuels and regenerative agriculture, or feel-good ideas based on bad science, Grunwald argues it’s time for a fundamental shift in values.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [45]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [21]
Climate Change [22]
Consumer [46]
Economy & Business [23]
Food [47]
Natural Resources [25]
Policy [26]
Science [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about The Cost of Losing Our ‘Sacred Acres’ [44]
At COP30, Amazon Rainforest Is Center Stage for Climate Catastrophe [48]

With the COP30 U.N. climate talks starting this week in Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon River basin, our Issue Backgrounder points out that now is a critical time to consider a central question: Is the mandate to save the immense Amazon rainforest as a way to combat climate change being irretrievably undermined by the vast, destructive forces bringing about the rainforest’s rapid destruction?

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [21]
Climate Change [22]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Forests [50]
Natural Resources [25]
Water & Oceans [15]
Region:
International [36]
South America [51]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about At COP30, Amazon Rainforest Is Center Stage for Climate Catastrophe [48]
Database of Flood Events Helps Cover Catastrophes, Past or Present [52]

A massive trove of mappable water data from the U.S. Geological Survey offers reporters resources to cover present-day flooding threats, compare them to past flood events or help prepare reporting for tomorrow’s disasters. According to the latest Reporter’s Toolbox, its various tools let you pinpoint immediate flooding, map future flood hazards and even configure phone alerts for breaking events.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [53]
Environmental Studies [8]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [11]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Database of Flood Events Helps Cover Catastrophes, Past or Present [52]
Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [54]

Queer ecology is an evolving field that challenges traditional assumptions in science and explores LGBTQ+ experiences in an ecological context. It’s easy to catch your audience’s attention with stories about transitioning clownfish or same-sex albatross parenting. But as contributor Isaias Hernandez explains, queer ecology also offers journalists an important perspective for covering a range of environmental issues, from climate risk to pollution exposure, and reimagining environmental narratives.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [3]
Agriculture [21]
Air [4]
Biodiversity [55]
Climate Change [22]
Disasters [53]
Diversity [56]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Environmental Studies [8]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
People & Population [57]
Planning & Growth [43]
Science [14]
Wildlife [28]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Queer Ecology — A Powerful Lens for Reporting on Environmental Injustice [54]

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